The Professor (Book 2)

3: Rumor Has It

The next morning, I had dressed warm as the temperatures continued to fall and ice out the landscape outside. I had ridden the train while trying to prepare myself for how I was going to bring up the matter to Harry.

I was sure he would try and deny the truth as he had done the first time I had asked. For all that he was, Harry was a gentleman first and foremost; if he hadn't told me from the start about the agreement of my enrollment here, he obviously hadn't wanted me to know. Probably because of what I was feeling right now; An unbearable guilt that was eating me up inside.

So as I had stepped off the train and walked the rest of the way to class, I was mentally prepared to joust with my words. I had arrived with the other students who were walking alongside me, snacking on foods and sipping on sugared drinks, prepping for what would no doubt be another rough class.

Walking inside the classroom, I was surprised to find Harry already there. He was standing by the front desk, sipping what appeared to be tea while he waited for the students to arrive. His eyes were fixated on something on the table, a bunch of odious-looking papers. It was right around then I remembered we had taken a test the last time we were here.

"Right then," He finally spoke up, as the rest of the class arrived and sat down. "I've corrected your tests from last time, and I'm pleased to say the majority of you are up to scratch with the material Professor Cho laid out for you. However, there was a percentage of the class that could drastically need some improvement," He told, looking over the rim of his glasses at the classroom. "With that in mind, I'm therefore going to surmise some of the basics very quickly before we go into the lesson plan for today."

I tried to focus on what he was saying, but my mind kept zoning out, even while I somehow absentmindedly managed to grab a few notes here and there. He kept talking, but whatever he was saying kept getting overshadowed by the fact that his voice sounded off, like it had done since he arrived. And now I knew why.

It pained me to see him stuck in a role he despised, according to his own words, surrounded by self-obsessed young people who were addicted to technological gadgets and silly trends. That he had put himself in this position for me, just so I could get my dream education.

The dream that had been a fading vision slowly turning into a nightmare lately.

And that, of course, only worsened my guilt. If the only reason I was really here was because Harry had agreed to come as well, then everything I had worked for might as well not have been.

– I wanted to prove I could earn my place here, not arrive here as another bargaining chip.

Rubbing my temple, a headache started to form again. I had had more and more of those with every passing week and class I had attended. I blamed school stress and pressure.

Somehow class managed to pass again without me catching much of what it had been about. At this pace, I would need to borrow notes from one of my classmates to catch up, but so what. Before I could even begin to focus on my classes again, I needed to know the one teaching them wasn't here under practical duress.

When the students started to clear the classroom, I did as I had done the last few times and lingered for a moment, taking purposely longer to pack my things. I waited till the class was completely empty before I walked down as well, taking a deep breath.